Roman Diary

Video, 124 minutes
HDcamSR, digiBeta, 16:9, colour, stereo

Rome 1849, Rome 2010, encounters with Giuseppe Garibaldi’s „Thousands“ and oneself.
„Silently the stone witnesses remain still in a Roman park, the past reaching far into the
present. Embedded between the images, Rembrandt’s questioning gaze onto himself. Then the rhythm
changes, life comes crashing in; people gather in the park under the night sky. In the end – still lifes,
the mysterious workings of objects. Below it all, the city.“

Tina Glaser, Vienna, June, 2011

Like all of the films I have made since „Heaven and Earth“ (1982), ROMAN DIARY is in a
way a tantric exercise or meditation, as defined by one of the oldest tantric texts, the Vijnana
Bhairava. If you watch a film in order to „learn“ something, then this film is not for you.
But if you want to test out what it is possible to experience through film, then this is the right medium for
you. Using techniques such as extreme slow motion and irrational, poetic contrast, it is a tool you can use to
centre yourself, for it speaks more to the heart than the head. What kind of experience it offers depends on
you. If you remain open with heart and mind, and accept what the film offers, it will bring you closer to your
inner self. But if you activate your critical self, then nothing will enter you. In a way it is a film for
meditation. Meditation does not help you to become a Buddha, but it helps you to become aware that you are
already a Buddha. Since meditation and love are close to each other and love does not follow a purpose but is
always there: simply be present. Without paying attention to your mind stay with the film, and see what takes
place ...